Japanese Curry Bread, which we call "Curry-Pan" is a deep fried pastry doughnut filled with Japanese curry.
It's not soupy curry - It's more of a curry paste. Since Japanese curry is sweet, the doughnut and curry combined are a perfect match. These pastries are known to be a Japanese creation - A bakery in Tokyo thought of it in the 1920s. 

You can get these beautiful pastries in most bakeries in Tokyo/Yokohama as well as conbinis (convenience stores)! They're affordable so you mustn't leave Japan without having a taste. One of my favourite bakeries in Tokyo/Yokohama is "Pompadour" - it is a popular bakery so you may find it at your closest station/mall. 

My advice to you is to put the pastry in the toaster oven before enjoying it. This makes the dough crunchy again....Mm!

P.S.
Yokohama city itself is also known for their curry-pan as well. My recommendation to you is to go to the "Red Brick Warehouse" in Yokohama to purchase one of these delicious pastries :) 


カレーパンって
１９２７年にはじめて作られたみたい。
結構新しいクリエイションだと気づいて関心。
アメリカにはないので
日本に帰るたびに買い漁ってます。

In Japan, "Donburi" is what we call a bowl of rice with goodies on top, it could be shortened to "-Don" too.

If it's Chicken on a bed of rice, we could say "Chicken-Don".

With just 4 ingredients, here's what I whipped up for dinner. It took less than 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Pork (thin sliced)
  
• Seaweed 
• Rice (I used frozen)
• Chinese Chives
• (Optional) Add veggies & condiments of your choice (I used soy sauce, sesame oil)

Steps:

• Simply stir fry the pork with the Chinese chives. I added salt, pepper, soy sauce and some sesame oil to taste. 
• In a bowl, create a bed of rice and place seaweed on top for saltiness.
• On top of the seaweed place the pork stir fry.

I promise - it's going to turn out delicious!


有り合わせで作るどんぶりって
最高ですよね♥︎

Hijiki! 
Full of iron, fiber, calcium and VItamin A. 
It's a superfood which will help us for a better blood flow, healthier skin and a superb intestine! 
What is it?
It's a brown sea vegetable, much like seaweed but chewy. 

For those of you who have not had a taste of it, and those of you who have, this recipe is a super-easy-must-try. All you do is throw in the following ingredients into your rice cooker. It'll turn into a savoury, warm Japanese rice dish. 

Ingredients

• Hijiki (2 tbsp dry) You can buy these at Daiso, or at any Japanese supermarket. They come dry, so make sure you soak it in water before throwing it into the rice cooker!
• 300g dry rice (cook w/ ~400ml water, or follow your rice cooker instructions)
  
  

Sauce

• Japanese soy sauce 1 tbsp
• Hondashi  (Japanese broth powder) 1 tsp
• Salt 1 tsp
• Japanese sake 2 tbsp
• Japanese mirin 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Wash the rice (as usual) and place the sauce into the rice
2. Add the water per rice cooker's instruction (or add around ~400ml if you don't have instructions)
3. Add the hijiki
4. Stir a bit, then cook the rice as usual!

I made these Japanese potstickers "Gyoza" for a dinner potluck on Friday. They were a hit! Great for a casual appetizer. They are savoury, easy to eat and will open up your guests' appetite for the upcoming meal.

I've posted a recipe here in the past but the ingredients I used this time are much simpler & easy.
Vegetarians! Keep in mind you can also make these without meat.

Ingredients (makes around 25-30 potstickers):

• Gyoza wrappers (you can buy them at a Japanese supermarket or an asian one. I've seen them in Wholefoods here in SF)
• 1/3 minced meat (I used turkey, I also recommend chicken or pork)
• Chinese Chives (I bought these also at the Japanese supermarket), if you don't have them, use spring onions
• (optional) Any other greens you like, like cabbage
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp grated garlic
• 1 tbsp each of Japanese soy sauce, sake, sesame oil

Steps: 
Please follow the steps on this recipe, I've provided step by step photos! 
Just make sure to pan fry them right before you are ready to eat them!

Who doesn't love super fluffy omelettes?

Japanese girls like me are into fluffy snacks, fluffy food, fluffy anything right now. 
Pancakes, omelettes, pastries....The list goes on.

So instead of lining up for 1hr to get fluffy omelettes, why not try it at home?

This applies to those living in San Francisco too!


Recipe for 1 omelette:

• 1 large egg (or 2)
  
• 2-3 tbsp of milk (I use Whole)
  
•  (Optional) Cheese, veggies
  

Steps:
1. Whisk the egg and milk. Try to get some air in there!
2. Heat a pan on medium heat.
3. On the heated pan, add a little olive oil or butter to prevent sticking.
4. Pour in the egg, add any optional goodies if any and mix the top layer so it gets a little scrambled.
5. Put the heat down to low and start cooking the egg to your favourite consistency slowly. Slowly!
6. Fold the egg and cook a little more.

fwah-lah!

I'm back in Japan as of yesterday!

Since my little sister had missed lunch, I made her this pasta dish.

This pasta dish took 10 minutes to make.
All it takes is pasta, garlic, olive oil and optionally, truffle oil. The appetizing smell fills up the room.

Ingredients: (for two)
- Olive oil (1 tbsp)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 200g pasta
- Optionally truffle oil (1 tbsp)

Steps:
1. Boil the pasta according to the steps on the pasta package.
2. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and toss in the garlic. Do not overheat the garlic. Add some of the water that the pasta is cooking. Let it simmer.

Once the pasta is done, toss into the pan with the garlic and oil. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper if necessary.

Yum!

Here in San Francisco, I'm lucky enough to have a Japanese market. Every 29th of this month, thin sliced meat is 20 percent off. We buy 5 to 7 packs of meat and freeze them all. What to do with thin sliced beef? Sukiyaki style stew!

For those of you who don't know, sukiyaki is a savory, sweet meat dish. It is usually cooked with a bunch of vegetables, but since I was lazy tonight, I only used meat.

Every Japanese house hold has their own taste of Sukiyaki. Some like it with a very strong salty taste, some like it weaker. People in Kansai like it bold where as Kanto like it more bland. I love it the Kansai style, so keep that in mind!

All you need is:

• Thin sliced beef (half a pound)

Sauce

• Japanese soy sauce (2-3 tbsp)
• Sugar (1-2 tbsp)
• Mirin (1 tbsp)
• Sake (1 tbsp)
• Dashi stock (1/2 cup)
• Optionally, add all different kinds of veggies, egg and tofu as you wish! (e.g. Cabbage, green onion)

Steps:

1. Cook the thin sliced beef quickly and pour in the sauce and simmer. That's it! 

Belos is my Lekue Steamer. Scroll to read more! 

I also experimented with a Lekue (Steamer) to make a similar dish with udon! Even more simple. Simply throw in all these ingredients and put it in the microwave! 

All you need for this Lekue Steamer Recipe is:

• How ever much meat you want (I put in 4 slices of thin sliced beef)
• 1 pack of Udon (I used frozen)
• 1 egg
• (Optional) Veggies 
  
• Sauce: Half the ingredients for the sauce above. 

Steps:

1. Lay the Udon, veggies and meat into the Lekue steamer. Pour in the sauce.
2. 5 min in the microwave for Power level 6 (or ~600 watts)
3. Crack in the egg after step 2. Using a fork, puncture the egg and heat for 2 min.

Instant noodles don't have to look "cheap".

Add delicious toppings to make it a proper, healthy, satisfying meal!

• Boiled eggs
• Stirfried veggies
• Seaweed
• Meat

How simple can it be?

Really.

All I used was:

1. 1/2 Avocado
2. Dash of Olive Oil
3. Dash of Salt
4. Some crushed cashews
5. Dash of Lime

I've heard many of my girl friends talk about this dish here in San Francisco. Some say it's great with a drizzle of honey. Some like to add dried berries. The best thing about this dish is that it's customizable! 

Tell me more about your customization if you have any :) 

Swedish pancakes! 

Going to an International school as a kid, I was exposed to lots of foods from all around the world! Our school had an annual Food Fair where parents and faculty would have booths representing their home country; my favourite booth was the Swedish one! They had the delicious Swedish pancakes. Today, I decided to make some myself! 

The pancakes turned out great. The way I was taught to eat these thin crepe like pancakes were: wrap w/ jam and sprinkle some sugar, roll it up and cut into pieces. Some of my friends loved to put on whipped cream, other fruits, honey or sugar. Today, I cut up some strawberries, sprinkled some cinnamon sugar and used some strawberry jam :)

For 10 delicious Swedish pancakes (which is plenty for 2 or 3), you'll need: 

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of milk 
• 1 to 1.5 cups of flour
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar
• Some butter/oil for the pan

For toppings: Fruits, cinnamon, sugar, honey, whipped cream...Anything you like! 

Steps:

1. Beat the eggs
2. Add the flour, salt and sugar
3. Add the milk in little parts
4. Heat up a pan w/ a little bit of butter/oil. Pour in a little less than 1/4 cup into the pan. Flatten and smooth it, as though it were a crepe! 
5. The heat will get through very fast, maybe a minute or two. Flip over, and start stacking the pancakes onto a plate.
6. Wrap your favourite ingredients and enjoy!! 
   
   
   

Simple is best. 

Japanese Italian restaurants serve absolutely delicious dishes! So if you are there now, please give it a try. My personal favourites are located in Kamakura. Many restaurants are located right by the ocean and some are located in special alleys. Overall, restaurants in Kamakura have a very romantic feel...Perfect for date nights! 

Just remember to give the Italian restaurants a try while you are in Japan. Don't shy away from it! 

Map of Kamakura and all it's Italian restaurants are at the end of this post.

So, here's a quick and easy cream pasta recipe. All you need is for 1 serving:

• 2 - 3 pieces of bacon (or however many you like!)
• Cream (I used half and half) (1/2 cup)
• Pasta (1 cup dry)

...read more

Who likes Empanadas?
Who likes Gyozas?

Who wants to hear about a fun, delicious twist on a gyoza? 

Most of us who access this blog love curry (I hope). Especially Japanese Curry.


Today, I decided to wrap up Keema curry in the Japanese Gyoza dumpling wrappers!  

Why, you ask? Because, I was craving for a snack somewhat similar to an Empanada. Unfortunately, it's very hard to find frozen Empanadas here in Japan, but dumpling wrappers are very cheap! 

These delicious dumplings were super crunchy and crispy on the outside. The curry inside and the wrapper itself matched perfectly too. Pairs great with wine or beer. Great appetizer or finger food for parties! 

Keema curry, for those of you who have not tried it yet, is basically stir fried minced meat with curry spices. It's not runny  like the traditional Japanese curry. It's more like paste. That's why I thought it would be a great idea to wrap it up with Gyoza wrappers! 

I bought the ready-made Keema curry but I plan to post a recipe for it soon as the ready-made kind may be hard to find in the US....If you cannot find the ready-made curry but want to try this a.s.a.p, I highly recommend for you to cook some minced meat and add some salt, pepper, curry spice and maybe even some cumin? 


Steps

1. Once you have the curry cooked and ready, wrap a teaspoon of it in a Gyoza dumpling wrapper. You can use other dumpling wrappers or even some pie dough!
   If you're wondering how to wrap a gyoza dumpling, check this recipe out 
2. Heat the oven at 200C (370F) and place the dumplings in for 10-15 minutes until gold and crispy.

That's it. If you decide to use ready-made curry/meat like me, it takes less than 20 minutes. 15 minutes of it is just waiting for it to cook in the oven...

Enjoy! 

Though I've already introduced this recipe for omelette rice (omu-rice), I'm posting it again. 

Very fun dish to make. Popular dish to make for your boyfriend in Japan ;) Show some love! 

Ketchup chicken rice is a typical stuffing for this dish in Japan but you can get creative as well. This time, I stuffed my omelette with some left overs from burrito night; rice with black beans and some South American spices. Mm! 

What you need (serves 1 dish) :

1. 2 large eggs
2. Oil
3. Rice (chicken rice, ketchup rice, any type of rice works here. See this recipe)
4. (optional) Veggies 

Steps:

1. Start by preparing the stuffing. You can use this recipe or simply stir fry some rice with optional veggies and chicken. It's good to throw in some ketchup or tomato sauce before adding in the rice. This will help prevent blotches of ketchup/sauce in the rice. Throw in the rice after and you'll see a more even tone.
2. Put the rice out of the pan and keep it to the side while you prepare the omelette.
3. Heat the pan on HIGH, put a little bit of oil. Mix the egg in a separate bowl and pour it into the heated pan. Quickly scramble the egg and throw in the rice. 
4. Start wrapping the egg up on one side of the rice (Be careful not to overcook the egg here). Flip the omelette+rice onto a plate. It's okay to toss the omelette onto the plate by turning the pan up side down! :)
5. Top it off with ketchup or be fun like me and place some pineapple salsa and avocado! 

Note: Steps #3 and #4 should only take 2-3min as the egg heats fast! 

I was surprised to see DAISO (Japanese $1 store) in San Francisco selling hijiki! 

Hijiki is a very well known healthy ingredient in Japan; it's high in fiber, iron and calcium. The most popular dish which is made using this ingredient is a simple simmered dish. It's a side dish, not a main dish. People like to throw in carrots, garbanzo beans and even konnyaku. All of which can be found in the US. The ingredients are simmered in a sweet broth made of dashi, soy sauce and sugar. It's simple, tasty and very good for you. Great to pack in your obento too.

Hijiki is usually sold in its dried state. You'll have to soak it in water for 20-30 minutes. The amount will increase by 7 to 8 times; it's fun to watch :) 

Ingredients (This makes a substantial amount, maybe around 6-8 servings) 

• 1 bag of hijiki (40g) 
• Carrots
• 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans 
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2-3 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
  
• 3 tbsp Japanese sake
• 1.5 tsp Hondashi soup stock
• 1 cup of water
• (Optional) 3 tbsp mirin

Steps

1. Put the dried hijiki in a bowl of water and see it increase its mass by 7 to 8 times. Rinse and wash thoroughly.
2. Heat a pan on MEDIUM heat. Place some oil and stir fry the carrots, garbanzo beans and hijiki until heated through.
3. Add the soy sauce, sugar, sake, soup stock and water (optional: mirin)
4. Place a otoshi-buta on the pan (Use foil as a lid and place directly on the ingredients, this helps the ingredients soak up the goodness). Heat until most of the broth is soaked up.

I was surprised when I saw a small Japanese kabocha being sold at a Farmers Market. Kabocha is a pumpkin or it could also be a winter squash of Asian variety according to Wikipedia. 

If you follow my blog, you may have realized that I've been cooking a lot of "boiled" dishes lately. The technique is to "niru" (煮る). When you cook ingredients in a broth, the broth is sucked up by the ingredients, ending up in a very tasty dish. This technique can be used for vegetables, meat and seafood. The best thing about it is that it is so easy. You just prepare the broth (probably just a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, etc), toss in the ingredients drop a lid and wait for the broth to be soaked up! 

The dish I'm introducing today is a Japanese kabocha nimono (煮物). Kabocha boiled in Japanese broth. It's sweet but savoury. The more you leave it in the broth, the more intense the taste will get. So be careful in boiling the ingredient too long! 


Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a kabocha (a fairly large kabocha)

Broth

• 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Japanese mirin
• 2 tbsp Japanese sake
• 1 - 2 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you like the dish)
• 3/4 - 1 cup of water

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a hot pan. Heat until it starts boils.
2. Once the broth starts boiling, toss in the cut pumpkins. (Cut them into bite-size pieces)
3. Place a piece of aluminum foil directly onto the pumpkin. This is called "otoshi-buta" which means to drop a lid directly onto the ingredients. This will help the pumpkin truly soak up the broth. Keep heating on MEDIUM heat.
4. Heat until the broth has been completely soaked up by the pumpkins. 

Note: Mix while heating so that the pumpkin is heated evenly. Also, you can adjust the heat to low since the aluminum foil lid can contain a lot of heat.

I packed the leftovers in my bento the next day. Became tastier than the day before!